"CBT Services"

I have a long history of Mental Health struggles and using a number of different services since I was in my early teens. I had previously been told I was receiving CBT however never really found it useful. After being referred back into Adult MH Services i was told CBT or EMDR was my last option in a rather unhelpful and negative assessment. I was informed that i would be put on a waitlist for EMDR as I had not yet tried this and was convinced that CBT did not work for me. A few months later I got my appointment letter only to be told that I had been misinformed and there was no formal EMDR waitlist and i was being offered CBT. Due to this I was extremely sceptical going into my sessions.

However I was gladly proven wrong and quickly learnt that the so called CBT I had previously experienced was extremely surface level/only focused on coping techniques. In my sessions with Sarah, she validated what I had gone through and was the first person to name Complex PTSD as what I was dealing with. This alone was extremely validating and allowed us to work through the traumatic experiences I have had and really delved into how these impact me everyday. Deconstructing these experiences and learning why they impact me; core beliefs being formed early in our lives based on our experiences, beliefs and the environments we are in.

Sarah taught me so much about why I am still impacted by certain experiences and beliefs and how to start reframing these beliefs in order to reclaim my life. Trigger differentiation was a new skill that Sarah highlighted, that has truly changed the way I approach situations. This has helped me start to view the future as something to be excited about, instead of avoid thinking about due to the fear of the unknown. I am now able to remind myself of how much I have grown and learnt and that I am a different version of the person who went through the traumas in my life. This has helped me deal with difficult situations that have arose in a healthy manner, in which I previously would have really struggled with and turned to dangerous coping mechanisms. So much so, that I have started to plan for my future, for example, going back to school which I never thought would be a possibility due to previous trauma around educational settings.

Working with Sarah has been so enlightening and for the first time, I was not scared when our sessions came to an end, as I felt ready and well prepared to go and put into practice what I have learnt, with the knowledge that if I start to struggle to cope again, the service will be there to help me if I need it. I cannot thank Sarah enough for all of her help and guidance, I truly feel as though she is the first professional in the Adult MH services who really listened to me and understood me and that made such a difference.